Illinois seeking one more REAL ID extension

Saturday

Sep 2, 2017 at 3:51 PMSep 3, 2017 at 8:25 AM

Doug Finke State Capitol Bureau @DougFinkeSJR

State officials said last week they are in the process of seeking another extension to comply with the federal REAL ID act, the last one they believe will be necessary before Illinois can comply with the law.

Nathan Maddox, senior legal adviser to Secretary of State Jesse White, said the office expects to submit the request to the Department of Homeland Security later this month.

“In the next few weeks, we will be applying for an extension of time to come into compliance until October of 2018,” Maddox said. “We have every reason to believe we will be granted that extension. We work closely with DHS on a regular basis.”

Illinois is currently operating under an extension from DHS that carries the state through Oct. 10. Maddox said he expects this latest extension will be the last the state will need. According to the Department of Homeland Security web site, 24 states are operating under extensions to the REAL ID act. The other 26 states are in compliance.

“By the time period that extension expires, we expect to be filing a request for certification as being fully Real ID compliant,” Maddox said. “We expect that certification to come through by the end of 2018. We will be issuing compliant cards beginning in January, 2019.”

Securing the extension is important so that Illinois residents can continue boarding flights and entering federal facilities without the upgraded drivers licenses or identification cards required under the federal law. The DHS web site says that beginning January 22, 2018, passengers will need to provide an alternative form of identification to board planes unless they have a REAL ID compliant drivers license or unless the state issuing the license has been given an extension.

Beginning in October 2020, air travelers will need a REAL ID compliant license to get on a flight.

Last month, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law House Bill 395, which creates a two-tiered REAL ID system in Illinois. It gives people the option of applying for a drivers license or state identification card that is compliant with REAL ID, or one that is not. Obtaining a REAL ID compliant license or identification card requires additional documents to prove a person’s identify, such as a certified copy of a birth certificate or a U.S. passport.

“If you have a passport, you have a REAL ID compliant document. You may not need a REAL ID card,” Maddox said. “If you never fly or never go into federal facilities, you may not need it.”

At least four other states, including Wisconsin, offer a two-tiered plan. In Wisconsin, only about 22 percent of residents have opted to obtain a REAL ID-compliant card.

REAL ID-compliant cards have a number of security features embedded in them that mostly can’t be seen with the naked eye. The features make it more difficult to produce fake cards.

Illinoisans have already seen some of the effects of the state complying with the REAL ID law. Instead of licenses being issued over the counter at drivers’ facilities, they are now mailed out from a central location. Issuing licenses by mail is a requirement of the law.

Maddox said the law also has required facilities to be reconfigured so that photographs are taken at the start of the process instead of at the end. New software had to be installed that requires certain processes to be completed before others are administered.

Maddox said it is difficult to pinpoint a cost to the state for complying with REAL ID.

“Every 10 or 12 years we upgrade our drivers licensing system,” he said. “We brought in a new system that we are in the final phases of implementing. That system was designed to be REAL ID compliant. But we would have brought in a new system now anyway. It was time to upgrade.”